A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

walk the board • walk the boards
walk the board —(Surfing ) move up and down one’s surf-
board: Advanced beginners will learn how to better handle
your board, surf down the line and walk the board.
Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase walk the plank—
1
. (hist.) be murdered by drowning
(when captured by pirates and forced to walk off a board extended
over the side of a ship): They deserve to be made to walk the
plank for their impudence. 2. be forced to resign from a job:
She claims she was made to walk the plank after complaining
about sexual harassment. 3. accept responsibility for smth. and
suffer the consequences: If they think that the President is going
to lose, they might decide, “OK, why should I walk the plank
for him?”
walk the boards —(also: tread the boards) be an actor: She
probably was destined to walk the boards of the English stage
and to grace the big screen with her exquisite beauty.
walk the talk • walky-talky
walk the talk —(U.S., also: walk one’s talk) do what one said
one would do — not just making “empty promises”: We need
not to talk the talk but it’s time to walk the talk. The time to
act is now or never at all.
walky-talky —a small portable radio link (receiver and trans-
mitter): The security guard got on his walky-talky and tried
to contact the school office to have somebody call an ambu-
lance.
warm house • warming house
warm house —a glass-house maintained at a high enough
temperature for the culture of tender or tropical plants: In a
warm house or greenhouse plants can reproduce all year round.
warming house —
1
. a structure at a skating rink where the
skaters can go to warm themselves: Lakefront Park remains
the premier location for winter activity with a beautiful warm-
ing house … a skating rink and a sliding hill. 2. (hist.) a room
within a monastery in which the monks were allowed to warm
themselves (often the only place where a fire was allowed):
The room was located above the warming house to keep vital
abbey documents dry and safe.